Trees of Life gs into production in Johannesburg

Obsessively Creative, a Johannesburg-based wildlife and natural history film production company are about to start filming a new television documentary series, Trees of Life, thanks to a Fintech finance solution, which enabled them to get the film equipment that was required.

The Trees of Life documentary series will be broadcast on the Smithsonian Channel in the US, Canada, and Caribbean countries, on ARTE France in French and German territories in Europe, and on Animal Planet in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Obsessively Creative are in final negotiations with NHU Africa for the worldwide distribution.

The Trees of Life trilogy centres around three iconic African trees and the wildlife surrounding them in three different environments. Obsessively Creative has secured a multi-million rand grant from the The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the above mentioned international broadcasters to fund this project. This three part one-hour HD, surround sound, blue chip documentary, is the second Obsessively Creative Production funded in part by the DTI.

The DTI have been absolutely great. They were on board for my previous two-part series White Lions - Living Wild, produced with Joe Kennedy from Table Mountain Films. The DTI have a list of requirements that the film has to meet, if it does then its a simple process. The DTIs contribution has made these new three films possible, says Stefania M ller, producer, director, and owner at Obsessively Creative.

It may seem that with international appeal and prestigious funders Obsessively Creative should easily be able to buy the film gear needed for the production. This would be a misconception of the challenges that the local film industry faces for a production of this scale. It is vital to use the latest equipment for international broadcast platforms, and suppliers demand cash on delivery (COD). The planning and securing of funding and broadcasters took two years. During this period Obsessively Creative had no income except royalties from their previous series and White Lions - Living Wild. Film industry professionals are mostly freelancers and financing structures differ from other industries in the private sector.

The budget is being allocated in four instalments. The challenge that Obsessively Creative faced having met their funding targets for the production budget, was that the initial funding instalment was not enough to cover their equipment costs and working capital until the next payment came in.

The equipment costs for Trees of Life went well into the millions. Unlike commercials or feature films, this type of wildlife documentary needs to be filmed over an extended period of time, and the rental of the equipment from a film equipment rental company would cost more than buying it.

Production budgets are all paid in instalments except the straight sales. You get paid once youve reached certain milestones set out in the contract. I approached two banks for equipment finance with signed contracts ensuring sufficient funds are available to pay off the loans completely by the end of the production period, and have property as surety, and I was turned down by both, says M ller.

Fintechs rental agreement spreads the budget over the entire production. Equipment suppliers need to be paid COD, and the production budget instalments cannot cover only equipment costs. The sales executive at Fintech was willing to look at our project proposal and needs and went out of her way come up with a financing plan, adds M ller.

Fintech tailor made a finance solution that included video and stills cameras, supporting equipment including two Sony F55 kits, a Camball , EZ Jib, a Liliput Zacuto, adaptors, filters, two shotgun recorders, and two Macbook's for the Trees of Life production.

Without finance we could never start this project. We need specialised equipment and the initial outlay would have used up all our cash flow. Technology has changed incredibly since the last wildlife documentary series completed in 2012. We need to make sure that our work is future proofed and that we deliver the high quality product that we committed to produce. If we opted for cheaper equipment we would not be able to actualise the vision that was funded to meet international specs. We have one of the only few Camball 3 cameras with wireless multifunction controllers in the country. The Liliput monitor goes with the EZ Jib to monitor the camera movements. We chose the Sony F55s as our main cameras because we are shooting wildlife in 2K and 4K and we shoot in remote areas, the Sony support in South Africa is good. Each camera needs a Macbook to download and copy footage from disks to drives, say M ller.

The DTI's contribution and Fintech's finance option has made the filming of Trees of Life possible. However, securing sponsorship was difficult because the programs are based around three iconic trees. Albeit iconic trees, they are still trees and Obsessively Creative had no pilot footage, so funders had to trust the written interpretation of the vision.

We will bring the trees alive with the use of new specialised equipment. Trees of Life is not only about the trees, we identify key characters that live in, on and around the tree, and follow their story. Herbert Brauer is my co-producer and Director of Photography (DOP), and we brought in Nathan Pilcher, who always wanted to do a program on the sausage tree in Zambia, to be co-producer and DOP for the Zambian episode. Well contact Fintech again soon if we go into 3D or I-Max, says M ller.

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